Hullo.... I'm wondering if anyone else is caught in the same boat I am, and if they've had a resolution to the problem? It concerns upgrading in late 2011. The only other post I found was here: http://forums.adobe.com/message/4374091#4374091

In late 2011 Adobe released a statement that users had to upgrade to a CS5 version because CS4 would not be eligible to upgrade to CS6. I did as Adobe suggested (got Photoshop CS5.1) and now I find out that they ARE allowing CS4 users to upgrade to CS6?! I feel cheated and used by Adobe. They want an extra $200 from me because they 'changed ther mind' and extended the policy in to 2012? Not all of us are business class users who can afford to be pushed around like this. It'd be good business if they would address this issue for myself and others in this situation, who were only doing the responsible thing and upgrading like they told us we had to, otherwise we'd have to buy the CS6 version out right. Personally? I am livid.

Calling customer support says that although they sympathize, they can't do anything because it's 6 months or so ago that it was purchased. Do *something*! I did everything I could short of talking to someone 'in charge', because I was told nothing would change even if I could.

I haven't heard of any accommodations though, except some people being offered LightRoom (though if this is for a Suite issue or a solitary Photoshop one, I don't know). Has anyone else knowledge of this?

Uh, not for nothing, but Adobe quite selling Photoshop CS4 when Photoshop CS5 shipped in May 2010. So exactly how did you "upgrade to CS4 in late 2011? Where did you buy the CS4 upgrade? Certainly not from Adobe nor from an authorized reseller because resellers quite selling CS4 when CS5 shipped.

You misunderstood the context of my title... I *had* Cs4, and I upgraded to CS5 in late 2011. The rest of the post would have cleared it up for you

Uh no...I read the rest of your posts and the situation-that you updated from CS4 to CS5/5.5 only because you read a policy change by Adobe –which was adjusted based on user feedback had any impact on you upgrading to CS5/5.5). If you want to complain, it's useful that you are explicate in your complaints...not my fault I didn't understand you thread title was screwed up...(read it yourself and tell me I'm wrong).

If you waited till the fall of 2011 before upgrading to CS5/5.5, you should have known that CS6 was coming out in late Spring, 2012 (Adobe made that clear last year even if they changed their mid regarding how far back the CS6 upgrade would apply to).

It's not my fault you read it improperly, more like. Though I don't begrudge you for filling in a word where there was none, the brain just does that erroneously at times. You read it as "upgrade(d) to CS4 in late 2011" whereas the ACTUAL title post was: "Upgraded PS CS4 in late 2011". Notice that without the 'to' it means something different. But that's neither here nor there.

However, the reason I focused on the fact I had CS4 was because it *affects* users who had CS3/CS4 and upgraded to CS5 during the time that Adobe first released their statement in late 2011. For all intents and purposes, it was final call for users to upgrade before CS6's release, because they changed the policy that meant all upgrades had to be within a one version difference. They knew it was an unfavorable move, and this is why they gave a small discount incentive. To get CS6, you had to have a version of CS5 (CS5.1 or CS5.5, etc).

"If you waited till the fall of 2011 before upgrading to CS5/5.5, you should have known that CS6 was coming out in late Spring, 2012 (Adobe made that clear last year even if they changed their mid regarding how far back the CS6 upgrade would apply to)."

Correct, we knew that. But now that policy has changed. So what was the point? Obviously we wouldn't have upgraded if we could have gotten CS6 from CS4. The only reason we DID upgrade was because Adobe has released a statement saying you *couldn't* upgrade to CS6 without CS5. Now, due to user recoil, they *changed* that policy and CS4 users can get CS6 at the same price it costs current CS5 users to get CS6. Thusly, any user who upgraded to CS5 when the initial policy was released is hooped. They have to pay full upgrade price for another upgrade even though they upgraded less than six months ago.

I understood the subject as was meant by the OP, but I can see that it could be interpreted differently.

The real problem however is that many customers feel that they have not been treated fairly because of a change in Adobe update policy. I sympathize with these customers, but realistically, this happens all the time with all sorts of companies, not just with Adobe. Anyone who ever bought something at a "great price" only to find the item reduced further a few weeks later knows the feeling. Expecting a company to "do the ethical thing" is unrealistic. Companies will do what they think brings in the most $$. Sometimes they weigh immediate profit against customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction loses. That is reality.

It does seem that the big fish companies are less likely to do the ethical thing, I agree with you. And sure, it's easy to feel like you got the short end of the deal if you upgraded right before a new version was released. But in this case, it was all for a very different reason: it was upgrade, or be caught in the cold if you ever wanted to upgrade again. I understand the analogy you made too, although in the case of a 'great price', you know what that is: a sale. Starts one day ends another! Or, more to the point with your comparison, the stuff gets cheaper as it is left on the shelf longer, right? You buy it a month earlier and see it dropped in price a month later. Whereas with the policy change, it specifically mentioned upgrading to CS6. The thing with this scenario is that Adobe specifically meant for it to apply to CS6 upgrades, and denounce pre CS5 versions from upgrading. Here's a quote from Adobe:

"With regards to upgrades, we are changing our policy for perpetual license customers. In order to qualify for upgrade pricing when CS6 releases, customers will need to be on the latest version of our software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions). If our customers are not yet on those versions, we’re offering a 20% discount through December 31, 2011 which will qualify them for upgrade pricing when we release CS6."

In the very least, they should have lowered upgrade prices from CS5 to CS6 instead of matching it to the CS4 to CS6 upgrade price. But that's not the case. I know most people agree with me and yes, it was ethically wrong of Adobe not to consider those caught in the post-policy change scenario. Has any one else pursued this I wonder, though? My attempts haven't met with much success.

I know that if I were goaded into upgrading by the quite explicit wording by that Adobe Senior VP that "you will need to be on the lastest version" to qualify for the opportunity to upgrade (and which STILL exists on the Adobe web site last I checked), I'd be miffed too.

Sure, you got 6 months of use of Photoshop CS5 but I don't think that's sufficient compensation for misleading marketing.

The key here is that most folks, without putting in a good bit more effort, would not know that the release date of Photoshop CS6 would be fairly predictable. In fact, there was even a date in the VP's announcement, but it was not a deadline for upgrading.

Thus someone could be forgiven for thinking "I'd better upgrade right away so that if they release Photoshop tomorrow I won't have to spend an additional $500".

I think it crossed the line from "aggressive" to "misleading" myself.

You did the right thing by calling them, though I might have done one thing differently: I'd have escalated it and talked peoples' ears off until such time as they either provided relief or I was sure I had exacted at least $200 in support costs from them.

Sadly, I think the exact wording of the announcement was such that Adobe's lawyers could argue that you weren't time-pressured to upgrade, and because of that you are unlikely to get compensation. They would say you have gotten value from Photoshop CS5 in the interim.

A philosophy to live by:

When pressured to buy, take that as a red flag and specifically AVOID buying.

The decision is yours and yours alone - and anyone pressuring you to buy is doing so because they're not providing sufficient value to make it advantageous for you to buy. Think about it: If you "miss" an opportunity to buy, there is virtually always another "sale" that comes along later.

Azurestar, there is something else that's really going to cheese you off. There is a security flaw in CS5 which Adobe have announced they are NOT going to fix. They say that you have two options - either upgrade to CS6 or be careful. This just shows that Adobe are more interested in their revenue than their customers.

A CS3 user did not buy CS4 or CS5. After 2013 they will end up paying the same overall price to have CS6 as someone who upgraded every time.

Presumably because they waited they have invested the money they didn't spend for Photoshop upgrades and increased it's value to the point where it buys them Photoshop CS6.

We all make choices based on value. I choose to actively reject anyone claiming I have to buy something now or miss out. There's always something good right around the corner. Life will be pretty dull if all the good choices are already behind us!

@Noel -- I'd have to agree with that philosophy. In fact I take that precaution regularly. However nothing about Adobe's policy change set up those red flags for me. Maybe they should have? Maybe they will in the future. Now, as it is I'm very tempted to just sit on my hands and wait till CS10 or something comes out, paying for a new product instead of upgrading with each new version. At least Adobe wouldn't be taking yet more money from me after pulling an unacceptable stunt like this. Nothing wrong with CS5, after all... (except for what RA Pender just said, wow?!).

'crossed the line from "aggressive" to "misleading"'

I wouldn't even call it misleading... but a worse word, if I could think of it. Like many other people, I did my research before committing to upgrade. I looked at my other options at the time and it was clear: if I wanted CS6, I needed to get CS5 or pay full price for it when it came out. My initial plan had been to upgrade to CS6 from CS4, so I was disappointed by the change in upgrade policy. When they discussed their new policy, the Senior VP pointedly said that you had to be on the latest version of the software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions). This statement given by the VP is what convinced me to upgrade... I trusted it. If he had said "CS5/5.5 etc"... I might construe that as misleading. But it was *either* one of these: CS5 or CS5.5. At the time it was true, so he wasn't lying. But changing that policy and doing it *so quickly* made it a falsehood in retrospect and of course, all those who upgraded are bound to feel hoodwinked. If Adobe were to conduct responsible business, they would make concessions for those people caught in the first draft of the policy change. As it is, the representatives are very sorry about the whole thing. But that's all.

Personally I'm not as badly affected as some others might be, because I chose to upgrade to CS5.1 instead of CS5.5 -- (I took the the cheaper of the two). I can be thankful for that. But I am still PO'd about how they are handling the situation... mostly because my initial plan to upgrade to CS6 *could have been possible* without upgrading to a flavor of CS5.

@John Waller -- You could let as many users you know, know about it. It's a great deal if you are running CS3 especially! I know some people let others know about it when the initial policy change was announced in late 2011, though, and now they have egg on their face.

And there's the rub, isn't it? Probably one reason so many who upgraded in late 2011 feel so burned. Not only were they doing what they thought was the responsible thing at the time, but they find out that due to the revised policy they could have had an *extra year* to sort out personal finances and upgraded to yet a more secure and newer version of Photoshop for essentially the same price.

Situation A:

Late 2011: You need a flavor of Photoshop CS5 to upgrade to CS6! Here's a 20% discount.

Situation B:

Early 2012: We're going to let Photoshop CS3 and CS4 users upgrade to CS6! You have till the end of the new year, and it's all going to be one set price no matter the version.

Completely, and totally, unacceptable disregard of those caught in Situation A. However, it's great for everyone who wasn't caught in A and can ride the wave of B.

Now, as it is I'm very tempted to just sit on my hands and wait till CS10 or something comes out, paying for a new product instead of upgrading with each new version. At least Adobe wouldn't be taking yet more money from me after pulling an unacceptable stunt like this.

If the Creative Cloud is as successful as Adobe hopes it will be, you may not have an option buy CS10 outright and may have to "pay as you go".

Don't scare me! I don't see any benefits of Creative Cloud so I really hope not! At least, not any benefits for a user like myself. xD

You'll probably have to get used to it sooner or later.

"Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said the company’s new Creative Cloud effort—a software as a service subscription model for its Creative Suite 6—will ultimately be the preferred delivery for both the company and customers."

"Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen said the company’s new Creative Cloud effort—a software as a service subscription model for its Creative Suite 6—will ultimately be the preferred delivery for both the company and customers."

Incidentally, during Shantanu Narayen's five year tenure, the value of Adobe stock has lost roughly one fourth of its value.

Funny thing: I upgrade to every latest release, right when it comes out.

But I will resist "pay by the month" software subscriptions for as long as I can.

One day I could end up disabled, or retired, or whatever and want to minimize my monthly payments. I don't think I'm willing to have all my software just stop working right at that moment.

Plus the pay by the month plan always seems a good bit more expensive in the long run than the perpetual license.

What's REALLY scary is all they have to do is to be more ruthless about stopping support of activation of old software and they will force people into even more things. Scenario: You buy a new computer. You deactivate Photoshop CS5 from your old one, install the image (you did back it up to DVD, right?), and go to activate it. It goes bzzzt - fail. You call Adobe and they just say "we no longer support activation of Photoshop CS5". What do you do?

You buy a new computer. You deactivate Photoshop CS5 from your old one, install the image (you did back it up to DVD, right?), and go to activate it. It goes bzzzt - fail. You call Adobe and they just say "we no longer support activation of Photoshop CS5". What do you do?

[..]

Well, I can imagine a surge in demand for cracked versions of CS5 as one scenario...

As one of those who have fallen foul of the situation laid out by the OP, I suppose I will have to [a] cough up for the CS6 upgrade or [b] carry on with my (nearly) new CS5.5 model. Option [a] is even more unattractive for me, as I am one of Adobe's "lucky" UK users who have to pay rather more for our photoshop pleasures than some...